Job Title: Payroll Officer
Job Location: Tiverton
Salary: Between £28,000 - £29,000 per annum, based on 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year
Contract Type: Permanent - Hybrid (3 days office based)
As a Payroll Officer, you’ll play an essential role in our organisation operating our inhouse end to end payroll—without you, our team members wouldn’t receive their wages, and the vital support we provide to children and young adults would be at risk.
You’ll be the driving force behind our operations, ensuring our staff are paid accurately and on time, enabling them to continue their critical work. Your role is pivotal to the success of our finance department, enabling precise financial reporting that informs how we grow as an organisation, manage staffing costs, and open new housing provisions and education settings.
Working across both the care and education sectors, you will gain valuable exposure to the complex and multifaceted nature of payroll. You’ll ensure that payrolls are processed efficiently and in full compliance with statutory and company requirements.
You’ll be responsible for delivering a high-quality payroll service that keeps the organisation moving forward.
A day in the life of a Payroll Officer will involve:
- Payroll Support & Compliance - Assisting managers in ensuring timely completion and approval of monthly timesheets, managing employee absence data, and maintaining adherence to statutory and internal policies.
- Inhouse End to End Payroll Processing - Supporting the Payroll Manager in processing accurate payments for approximately 600 employees across two monthly payrolls, ensuring compliance with HMRC regulations and pension policies.
- Audits & Database Management - Conducting regular payroll audits, updating data, and working with the Head of Finance, IT department, and ADP to resolve system issues.
- Budget Assistance & Reporting - Assisting in preparation of payroll-related budget data, supporting the annual budgeting process, handling payroll queries, and ensuring compliance with Data Protection and GDPR.
To be a successful Payroll Officer you’ll need:
- Proven experience in internal end to end payroll processing, with expertise in both academic and 52-week payrolls. Understanding of payroll legislation, ideally with CIPP or equivalent qualifications.
- Strong attention to detail, and the ability to manage tasks in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- Self-motivated, adaptable, with strong time management and excellent customer service skills. Ability to work independently and within a team.
- Strong IT skills – We’ll train you on how to use our systems, but it is essential you have a working understanding of using Microsoft packages like Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams.
- Great Communication and Relationship-Building Skills: This role requires outstanding verbal and written communication abilities. You should enjoy working with people, be team-oriented, and capable of building strong relationships with all departments, managers and stakeholders.
In return for your time, you’ll get:
- Holidays – You’ll get 28 days annual leave, including public holidays. You’ll also get an extra day off on your birthday after a year!
- Pension scheme– Our pension scheme is based on you paying in 5%, and us adding 3%.
- Learning & Development Opportunities – We provide comprehensive learning opportunities for team members to develop themselves.
- Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Card and our own employee benefits platform.
- Wellbeing Support – Your wellbeing is always our priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support. On top of this, our therapies team offers a monthly confidential check in clinic, and group reflective practice sessions.
- Cycle2Work -The cycle to work scheme enables you to buy a bicycle at a discounted rate.
- DBS – As this role required you to have an enhanced DBS carried out, we will cover this cost.
After 12 months service you’ll also be eligible for our Medicash scheme which covers a wide range of medical, health and wellbeing expenses (Including immediate access to a GP!). You’ll get life assurance paid at x2 your annual salary, and even more high street discounts.
Please note that as part of our safer recruitment processes, successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check, and online and social media checks, and reference validation.
At Phoenix Learning and Care, we pride ourselves on our diverse workforce, and ensuring we have an inclusive environment for all our team members. We remain committed to ensuring our teams can bring their true selves to work without risk or fear of discrimination.